Deputy Eoin Ó Broin: This week, the Dublin Inquirer reported the death of 46 people accessing homeless services so far this year. We know this is not the full picture as the figures are from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and because there is no mandatory reporting, it may well be an underestimate.

It also does not include people who may have died having moved into a permanent tenancy but were in that crucial at-risk period of the first six months. Whatever about the numbers involved, the reality is that far too many people are dying, and dying prematurely, while accessing homeless services. The use of the word "prematurely" is very important because these are people who are caught at the intersection of homelessness, mental ill health and addiction. While those factors put them at greater risk of premature death, if adequate supports, services and interventions are put into place that means those deaths, in many cases, are eminently preventable.

The most comprehensive data we have is produced annually in a very important report by the Heath Research Board, HRB, but because there is a time lag from when the coroner's court reports are fully completed, the most up-to-date information we have State-wide is from 2022. To go through some of the recent figures, in 2019, 83 people died prematurely while experiencing homelessness. The following year, it was 121 people, the year following that it was 133 people and in 2022, the most recent year we have the figures for, it was 124 people.

Austin O'Carroll, the GP who provides homeless services to many of our street homeless population in Dublin, as the Minister will know, was commissioned to do a very important report that was published in 2021; the Interim Report on Mortality in Single Homeless Population 2020. He set out four sets of recommendations aimed at gathering information, ensuring a review would take place once such deaths occurred but also, crucially, putting in place changes and reforms to prevent such deaths occurring in the future. The most important recommendations of this report have not yet been implemented. Crucially, there is the need for adult safeguarding reviews. These are look-back reviews in each case where there is such a death, not to apportion blame but to understand what the systems failures were that, if they had been addressed, could have prevented the premature deaths. In the absence of adult safeguarding reviews, the crucial five-year critical review that should be taking place later this year or early next year cannot now take place.

We also know that the provision of mental health and addiction supports are patchy. A lot of very good work is being done by front-line public sector workers but not everybody is getting the supports they need. We also know the Housing First programme, which is underfunded across the State, has effectively collapsed in Dublin over the past two years because of the challenges arising from the Peter McVerry Trust debacle. While those issues have finally been resolved it effectively has meant no new Housing First tenancies have been created in Dublin for two years.

We also have to be honest. While the public is exercised about issues of homelessness, this particular cohort of very vulnerable people often get forgotten. The focus is often rightly on child and family homelessness, which is a scandal, but we also need to keep the focus here as well. I have two questions. Can I have an update from the Minister of State with respect to the implementation of the crucial recommendations from Dr. Austin O'Carroll's 2021 report? Can I also get a commitment from the Government that more will be done in the coming months and years to ensure the necessary measures are put in place to prevent such eminently preventable deaths from reaching the same levels in the coming years as we have unfortunately seen in recent years?

Deputy Colm Brophy: I thank the Deputy. I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. I understand that the Dublin Region Homelessness Executive, DRHE, recently released information on the number of homeless people who died in homeless services in 2025. The death of any person in emergency accommodation or a person rough sleeping is a tragedy, and I would like to extend my sincere condolence to the families and friends of all those concerned.

The Department of Health commissioned the HRB to collect data on all deaths which occur among people who are homeless nationally. The HRB collects data directly from coronial files and provides analysis of patterns of premature mortality. The purpose of the report is to improve understanding of premature mortality of people who are homeless and to inform healthcare services for this cohort. The figures released this week by the DRHE have not been subject to HRB analysis. The most recent HRB report is in respect of deaths that occurred in 2022. The HRB report identified 124 deaths among persons who were homeless that were sudden and unexpected in 2022. The median age of death was 48 years of age.

Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority. In November 2025, the Government published Delivering Homes, Building Communities: An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness. The plan includes a number of important measures to address the health needs of people experiencing homelessness. In particular, the plan commits to providing increased health support to households experiencing homelessness through the implementation of the HSE national strategic plan to improve the health of people experiencing homelessness.

Another important policy response for individuals with complex health needs experiencing homelessness is the Housing First programme. The Housing First approach to addressing homelessness places direct access to housing first and foremost for vulnerable individuals using homeless services consistently or intermittently over long periods, and those unable or resistant to accessing homeless services and who may then become habitual rough sleepers. These individuals often have complex high-support needs such as mental or physical health problems, addiction issues or dual diagnosis - the presence of mental ill health and a substance addiction. The majority of individuals in emergency accommodation do not require the level of supports provided by Housing First but those who do are often the most vulnerable individuals in homeless services. Delivering Homes, Building Communities commits to creating 2,000 Housing First tenancies to help eliminate long-term homelessness.

In order to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place over the winter period, cold weather initiatives operate across all local authorities to provide additional emergency beds for rough sleepers where needed. These arrangements ensure that additional temporary beds can be brought into use across a range of existing services and facilities for singles and couples who need them during periods of cold weather. The cold weather arrangements are typically introduced in November. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage works closely with local authorities to co-ordinate this important response and funding is available to local authorities to ensure that cold weather arrangements are sufficient to provide the necessary housing supports during the winter period.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin: The work of the HRB is hugely important. It does not just provide an accurate, State-wide account of the number of people who prematurely die while experiencing homelessness, it also produces comprehensive reports. One of the challenges is the data; because the HRB has to rely on coroners' reports it is four or five years out of date. In the intervening period since the HRB's last report, we have had no new Housing First tenancies in Dublin because of the procurement challenges following the withdrawal of that service from the Peter McVerry Trust. We have not seen an increase in vital addiction and mental health supports, particularly in our larger urban areas. Most importantly, and I know it is not the Minister of State's own response but the one he was provided with by the Department of housing, the key recommendations from a Government-commissioned report into this very issue, published in 2021, have not been implemented.

Will the Minister of State, if he is willing, convey to the Minister, Deputy Browne, the need for greater urgency in implementing all of those recommendations? Every single one of these deaths is a tragedy but what is even worse is that many of these deaths are preventable. These are young people. They are dying far too early in life. Yes, they have complex needs and are experiencing homelessness, mental ill health and addiction, but it has been proven in other jurisdictions that when the appropriate supports are put in place the risk of premature mortality reduces dramatically and many of these people emerge from the challenges in life to full recovery and go on to live long and happy lives afterwards.

The particular recommendations that urgently need to be implemented are the adult safeguarding reviews, the five-year critical review and more up-to-date publication of the data. This is not a criticism of the HRB but interim reports from homeless services could be done in advance of that. If the Minister of State could ask the Minister to communicate his response to those queries directly I would greatly appreciate it.

Deputy Colm Brophy: Of course, I will convey directly to the Minister the points and questions raised by the Deputy. I acknowledge and thank the Deputy for raising them. More than €543 million has been allocated to homeless services in 2027. The funding will ensure local authorities can provide emergency accommodation, homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment services, including Housing First and outreach supports and other services, to households who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness and that these households in emergency accommodation are supported to exit homelessness to tenancies as quickly as possible.

Homelessness is a complex issue in which causal factors and family circumstances vary considerably. Homelessness is also interrelated with other areas of the housing system and with broader social and healthcare policy and service delivery. Therefore, it is important to have a whole-of-government approach when dealing with it. Housing First will continue to do a vital element of the policy response to rough sleeping and long-term homelessness for individuals with complex health needs. New contracts for Housing First in the Dublin region were recently signed.

Tenders for the service in other regions will be published in the coming months to support the targets set in the national implementation plan. The most recent data, to the end of quarter 2 2026, shows that 1,154 tenancies have been created so far over the period of the plan and 1,032 individuals are currently in a housing first tenancy. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is committed to continuing to work closely with the Department of Health, HSE and local authorities to continue to deliver the appropriate measures to support all individuals experiencing homelessness, including those with complex needs.